Paris Hilton arrested on drug charges in South Africa last night

The hotel heiress was taken into police custody and held in a cell after watching the soccer World Cup match between Brazil and Holland in Port Elizabeth as undercover police officers said they had found local marijuana, known as 'dagga', in her handbag.

Paris had been followed by detectives as she boarded a luxury bus that had taken her, her friends and movie star Leonardo DiCaprio to the quarter-final game and when officers unleashed their sniffer dogs, they went straight to the blonde beauty and her pals.

A police source claimed: "The stadium is a smoke-free zone but at the end of the match an officer noticed Ms Hilton appeared to be smoking. Upon closer examination it became obvious she was smoking weed. That's when she was arrested."

Paris - who was taken to a police station close to the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium - then appeared in court.

However, early this morning (03.07.10) all charges against Paris were dropped after her friend admitted possession of cannabis.

Freelance photographer Jennifer Rovero, who accompanied Paris to South Africa, accepted the charge and was sentenced to a 1,000 rand fine or 30 days imprisonment.

Paris' representative Dawn Miller said: "I can confirm that the incident was a complete misunderstanding and it was actually another person in the group who did it. The case has been dropped against Paris and no charges will be made."

This is not the first time Paris has been in trouble with the law.

In 2006, the reality TV star was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) and in 2007 she served 23 days in prison for violating probations conditions.